Janie Cater’s grandfather, Grover C. Womack, first settled in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana in 1870. Establishing a family farm that operated for more than 100 years, generations of the Womack family were raised on the land.“It’s where everything happened,” Cater explained. “It’s where we rode horses, went hunting and walked with the children. I consider it a family legacy.”

Just over 1,000 acres, the farm was not fertile enough to grow cotton, the last crop the family tried. Instead, it was mostly used for grazing cattle. Then, the family was approached by GreenTrees with an opportunity to partner, offering an alternative income source via carbon credits to offset ownership costs. As a result, something different was planted, trees.

In a landmark collaboration, Grupo Perú and the Ministry of Environment of Perú (MINAM) partnered to develop the world’s first Indigenous Jurisdictional REDD+ Program under the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART). This groundbreaking initiative reinforces the importance of Indigenous governance and traditional knowledge in forest protection and serves as a global model for how governments and communities can work together to drive meaningful climate action.

The Indigenous organizations of Grupo Perú and the Ministry of Environment of Perú (MINAM) received the 2025 ACR Innovation Award for partnering to develop the world’s first Indigenous Jurisdictional REDD+ Program under the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART). 

The case study is available in English, followed by Spanish.

En Español:

En una colaboración histórica, el Grupo Perú y el Ministerio del Ambiente del Perú (MINAM) se unieron para desarrollar el primer Programa Jurisdiccional REDD+ Indígena del mundo bajo la Arquitectura para Transacciones REDD+ (ART, por sus siglas en inglés). Esta iniciativa innovadora refuerza la importancia de la gobernanza indígena y el conocimiento tradicional en la protección forestal, y sirve como modelo global sobre cómo los gobiernos y las comunidades pueden trabajar juntos para impulsar acciones climáticas significativas.

Las organizaciones indígenas del Grupo Perú y el Ministerio del Ambiente del Perú (MINAM) recibieron el Premio a la Innovación ACR 2025 por desarrollar en conjunto el primer Programa REDD+ Jurisdiccional Indígena del mundo bajo la Arquitectura para Transacciones REDD+ (ART).

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians have long been guided by the doctrine of self-determination. They have inhabited the region around Nanih Waiya – a massive earthen mound and cave that marks the birthplace of the Tribe – for thousands of years. As an independent nation, the Choctaw have worked hard to control their own destiny.

Self-determination guides the Tribe’s economic, educational and community development, including its forest management. Now, the Tribe is using their forest in a new way, developing a carbon project to help fund the expansion of a new Choctaw Central complex, which will house a middle and high school.

Special thanks to Stephen Taglieri for use of his fantastic photography.

Duke University in Durham, N.C., consistently ranks among the very best U.S. universities. Now Duke is known for an additional achievement: climate leadership.

The Tradewater-Thailand Carbon Project worked to safely and responsibly destroy ozone-depleting substances – which are also potent climate-changing gases – from more than 1,400 cylinders, despite the fact that there is no law, rule, or regulation requiring their destruction.

Set on more than 36,000 acres of Acadian Forest in Maine, the Anew-Tomah Highlands Forestry Project shows how the sale of carbon credits supports conservation and climate goals, while also promoting regional economic development to build the bioeconomy from responsible forestry.